In the 1950s, when I was a young artist studying at the University of Puerto Rico, the painter Eugenio Fernández Granell was my mentor. He introduced me to Dadaism and Surrealism, and I owe him my fascination with the historic rhythm of European Modernism. These models triggered an appreciation that still fills me with a sense of dynamism and euphoria. Dada was rich enough: the chaotic anarchism, black humor and subversive spirit of Tristan Tzara, Arp and Hugo Ball -the whole gang- led me to value a tradition that dates back to the origins of humanity and culture. This spirit is present in my work from the start: in the anthropomorphic figures, the changing seasons, ice, grease, maps, and the constant presence of the heroes of Modernism: Picassso, Giacometti, Morandi, Duchamp, Lam, the list is long. My long conversation with them has been a pleasure!

My first sculptures were iron and welding assemblages, based on the influence of Julio González and the world of the last decade of the 19 th century in Barcelona. These influences also inspired David Smith in New York, and sculpture with an emphasis on spatial drawing. The use of steel as a primary material revitalized sculptural traditions, heavily dependent on modeling and bronze casting, and encouraged new modes and ways of doing. Bronze sheets turn into large sheets of drawing and construction paper. Folding, cutting, welding, polishing, in short, doing everything that can de done with metal, to enlarge the vocabulary of form.